But who cares?

Neil and Jess braved 12 degree temps and a snow storm for their session.  I wore jeans (WHAT was I thinking) and got completely soaked.

Dana and Mike were fearless on their wedding day and we did ALL their photographs outside!  I was so into it I forgot to put on my coat!  Yeah.  The whole day outside in a shirt.  Go Tam.  ::laughing shaking head.::

So I was faced with a dilemma about 2011.

How to talk about it.  How to show you my work.  How to make you happy to see it.  (I’m still working on that one!  ::grin:: )

Do I talk about the new studio?

Or how we’ve grown in leaps and bounds?

Or my team?

Or the cool projects I’ve gotten to do this year?

Or the traveling?

Or what I’ve learned?

Or what’s new?

…. I could.  But then the blog entry would be 156 pages long and you’d be here until Sunday morning reading this.  And I’m frankly, not that interesting. 

Then I thought,  well, maybe I can post a lot of photographs and talk about each one…but I want you to watch all the way to the end, right? (Yes Tam, all the way to the end.  Gheesh!)   I don’t want you to get overwhelmed, or bored, and stop mid-story.  Fail.

So my dilemma was (and always is, btw) — how can I present images in a way that pushes a little bit?  …in a way that draws you in, makes you think and engages you from start to end?

This is the result.  It was a huge CHALLENGE to put together because (and you’ll see this if and when you watch) it had to flow — so we had to edit down brutally.  That infuriated me — but sometimes…less is more, eh?  Tell me less is more.  So I have forced myself to stop fretting over how much I COULDN’T show you.  Or this would be 4 hours and 37 minutes instead of just a couple.  I am exercising restraint.  Someone had to!

So I am disproportionately proud of the final result.  It’s EXACTLY what I had in mind when I was scribble-scrabbling for the right way to present 2011.

Be prepared.  It made ME cry — and I TOOK the images.

Also — I just had this headshot done by the RIDICULOUS Carla Ten Eyck — and I LOVE. So I’m debuting it just because I think it’s perfectly ME.

So in order to see the review you have to click on my head.  ::laughing::

Or…if you absolutely don’t WANT to click on my head (we can discuss the implications of this later… )  – then click here.

(And please do not judge the fact that I cannot figure out how to embed a video on this blog to SAVE MY LIFE. )   Now on to 2012.  BRING. IT.

Since one of my focus points this year is to not stress over (or stress LESS)  things that I have absolutely no control over (wish me luck ::grin::). I am offering this list of 5 reasons you may not have considered about weather and why it’s very unpredictable nature (if you’ll pardon the pun) makes your day uniquely yours…it’s something you should prepare for – but not stress over.

5.  You have no control over it. 

Do you see that one coming?  ANYTHING can happen with weather.  The more calm you are about it – the easier it will be to adjust quickly to any change that comes up.  Here’s the trick – let it go.  Laugh about it.   Don’t let it be the thing that makes you upset – let it be the thing that makes it fun.

4.  No squinty, vampire eyes if it’s bright sun.

Now.  I know Twilight  and how trendy all things vampire are right now – but in wedding photography, at least, the dark shadows that happen around your eyeballs when the sun is bowling ball bright are not the best in images.  In order to combat that – photographers will become shade hounds or have to point a flash directly AT YOU to light your face up in a way that makes you look evenly lit.  Trust me – bright sunny days are pretty for sure – but they offer their own challenges – especially if you are getting married in summer and you add hot into the mix.  One weekend this year I saw men sweat THROUGH their jackets.  Man it was hot.  

Um.  I don’t have any examples of squinty vampire eyes.  But you know what I mean right?

3.  Cloudy = AMAZING images.

Soft cloudy, grey clouds, dark clouds – all are STUNNING in images AND you totally avoid “the squint” or the need for sunglasses.  Your eyes won’t water.  And you get the loveliest romantic images.  The colors pop against a grey sky.  Grass, buildings, colors – everything is more vibrant and lively.  Mmmmmmm grey days are my favorite.

2.  Rain = Playful

What other opportunity do we have for rubber boots, or umbrellas or reflections on EVERYTHING?  Rainy days are creative.  There are SO many ways to make images in the rain – and if you’ll remember the way bad weather makes everyone more relaxed – rainy day images are INCREDIBLE.  And sexy.  And bad ass.  Take THAT rainy day.

1.  Bad weather makes a better party.

The above image is from a wedding in Binghamton NY two week AFTER the entire city was flooded.  Like twelve feet of water flooded.  Mud.  Rain.  Clouds.  And the funnest party EVER.  Now.  This is ONLY a Tammy Swales observation/opinion so take it for what it is –– But I believe that everyone is anxious about the weather being perfect on their wedding day  – so when it changes and rains or is windy and IMPERFECT –  something is released – anxiety maybe?  Everyone relaxes — it’s like — “Hey.  It happened.  But now we can stop thinking about it and have FUN!”

…

Okay.  So that’s five.  But I can hear you thinking – okay Tam.  We get it – but what if the weather is REALLY severe?  Lightening or Tornado or Hurricane?   Here’s the answer:  You adjust.  You adapt.  Everyone becomes a team and team thinking is the most amazing thing ever.

I went to Hilton Head SC this year for what I was expecting to be an INCREDIBLE beach wedding.  (You already see what’s coming, right?)   Yup.  Tropical Storm.  Winds at 40 mph.  Crazy Ocean that was muddy colored from the sand being churned up.

Yeah.  Not what we were hoping for.

So team thinking came into play.  Ceremony moved to the pavilion.  Tables were adjusted.  Wedding party photos happened in a PARKING GARAGE.  Don’t judge.  ::grin::  The light was amazing and most importantly:  NO WIND.

The day after session was equally as crazy.  But then we could play in the water and wind and waves and pool and really make the weather a part of the images.  And truly – it was the most amazing day ever.  We laughed and ran and played and no one cared about the weather.

Neither should you.  It’s your day – and the weather is only a tiny part of your story.  But if it’s a BIG part of your story – then imagine the amazing stories you’ll have to tell forever after.  About how you adapted.  About how you laughed.  And about how it was the best damn party you’d ever been too.

And if you REALLY want to get your mind blown – check out this blog entry by the amazing  Bobbi and Mike out of Indianapolis.  They had an ACTUAL TORNADO go over the wedding they were photographing and I cried my eyes out reading about it.  But the story is amazing and incredible.  And, the day and images were amazing.

So stop worrying!  Play!   Dream!  Laugh!  But don’t let weather worries trap you into thinking that it will ruin your day.  It probably will do the exact opposite and make it personally YOURS and be AMAZING.

No stress!

Stay tuned for the COOLEST 2011 Recap EVER.

My favorite thing is hearing their story.  What makes them amazing.  What they are passionate about.  All the fun stuff! 

So, part of a conversation yesterday resonated with me — enough so that I felt compelled to blog about it — because, as always — to ME — SEEING what I’m trying to talk about is as important as the words…

Todays Composition Title:

First Looks.

First Looks are misunderstood.

First Looks break tradition.

First Looks are scary (and exciting, and intimate…and…wait.  I’ll get there.  ::grin::).

A lot of brides come to me and when the subject comes up — they say — “oh no.  I want my fiance’s first view of me to be when I am coming down the aisle”.

Yup.  I TOTALLY get that.  And respect that.  and LOVE it if that’s what you want and choose to do…

But…if you are at all open to this — I want you to think about the advantages of a first look:

It’s yours.

You are not sharing it.  It is your day with your man (or woman).  It’s a moment that you DON’T share, except with each other.  You don’t have to think about your dad, or your mom, or all those people who love you who try to catch your eye as you walk down the aisle.

Nope.  It’s just you two.  Alone.

And it is breath-taking.  And quiet.  And soft.  And romantic.

THEN!

You have TIME.  For photographs…for time to breathe and laugh and play a little bit.

And here’s the biggest secret that no one really understands until you go through it –

When you come down the aisle and the music plays and everyone is crying…

You Forget the First Look Ever Happened.

You are IN THE MOMENT.

It’s Magical.

Then the OTHER magical part?  ALL YOUR PICTURES ARE ALREADY DONE.  You don’t have to make family and friends wait for you to go off somewhere — you’ve ALREADY DONE IT.

It’s efficient.  Which, really, is not a romantic word…but I can tell you that it makes your day smoother, less stressful, and fun.  And it gives your photographer time to do what you are PAYING THEM TO DO — which is take beautiful photographs of important people who love you and who you love.

I am a big supporter of First Looks.

But it’s, ultimately up to you.  I just wanted to give you something else to think about (and look at.)

…

So … Elyse and Josh had their First Look at…wait for it…the EXACT place they had their first kiss.

Perfection!

And then?  We had time to play and take cool pics.

Maybe just…think about it?

xoxo T

Jill and Andy are getting married next year.  Unfortunately for ME — I was already booked for their wedding date.   ::sniff::  But a really great photographer is photographing their wedding — so I still got to play by doing their engagement session.  I should also mention that Jill and Andy are BEST FRIENDS with one of my brides who will be on the blog later — so we already had a chance to interact at Beth and Marc’s wedding.  And they are as terrific and nice as they look.  Our session was plagued with drama — security guards!  yelling!  wind!  holes in the road!  drama!  ::laughing::  But we all brought our A game and didn’t let anything bother us — and the images are STUNNING.  Well.  Here.  You decide…

Right?!

A lot of times those ideas kind of fade away because they are impractical for whatever reason, or I notice that someone else has done something kind of along the same lines, or…I get bored with it…or it’s too hard to REALLY do.  Since I generate a LOT of ideas all the time (who knew this was unusual?) this happens quite often.

Once in a while though, I have a “BIG” one.  And this time, not only was it big — but it turned out to exceed my wildest imagination and expectations — and I could NOT have achieved it without the diligent work and dedication of my team, my friends, my clients and my colleagues.

It started with Vanity Fair.

You know how they have that issue with the actors on it?  I remember thinking…I’d love to do something like that.  How can I do something like that?

And then…in the middle of the night…I woke up with this idea perfectly formed in my head:  my clients.

I wonder if my clients would do something like that?  And so…an idea was born.  The most humbling thing for me, by FAR, is that every single one of my clients we talked to said yes.  No hesitation…no maybe’s — just…yep.  Tam.  That sounds sooo fun!  Let’s do it!  Tell me when and we’ll be there!

I think I might have cried I was so overwhelmed by that.

As an afterthought i said — hey.  let’s videotape it and see if we can’t put a little behind the scenes thingy (yes, I said thingy, it’s the technical term!  ::grin::) together.  Which turned into:  let’s interview each person and ASK (innovative concept, right?  ASK our clients to tell us about their experience) — and we maybe might have forgot to mention this to our clients — so when they came in to be photographed, they were surprised and a little nervous to sit in front of a camera.  I’m telling you this so you can see what follows was completely unscripted — even when I talk (and it’s SO HARD to hear yourself…ugh.  do I REALLY sound like that?  OMG) I had things I wanted to say, but I just talked unscripted.  I sounded a little strange and disconnected and sometimes I’d have to say it a couple of times — but I wanted it to be more gritty and real — then a perfect beautiful video.  Because we want to have fun and play and take photographs — we don’t want to be perfect.  It’s too much pressure, right?

Here’s the Vanity Fair cover that inspired me:

Cool ,right?  So…what I love about what our final image is that it’s a TOTAL Swales interpretation.  I wanted several things — I wanted to show how DIVERSE my clientele is…I wanted to show how COOL they are…and I wanted to be PLAYFUL.

Here’s mine (and clicking it will take you to an online version — that if you click it will make it REALLY BIG.  Try it — it’s totally cool!)

Can you BELIEVE this?!  I LOVE it sooo much!!!

Finally — we worked on the COOL VIDEO.

I don’t know what to say about it other than it’s the coolest thing I think we’ve done up until this point.  I love everything and everyone in it.  Thank you Thank you Thank you to everyone involved — my amazing clients, Rock Paper Scissors Salon who styled, Bruce Hahn for advising me on lighting, My amazing team, and my family for supporting me through all the madness.  I love you all.

So…watch it will ya?  And tell me if you like it.  really.  Cuz it was a LOT of work.  And I really wanted you to know how important it is to me that my clients take center stage…because, ultimately, that’s WHY I do what I do.  For you.  xoxo

Ready?

Labor Day Weekend, I traveled to Long Beach NY (go there.  now.  it’s incredible!) to photograph the wedding of Jocelyn and Joe at the newly opened Allegria Hotel.  What made it difficult, like so many of my weddings, was that it got picked up by the gorgeous Merci New York Style Blog — and because they wanted to wait until warmer weather to showcase a beach wedding — we had to wait to talk about it…although a FEW images sneaked out here and there because, frankly, I couldn’t wait perfectly. 

I want you to look at the photographs and think about the fact that Jocelyn conceived the concept of sea glass and wove it through the entire wedding.  Blues, greens, that soft color that only comes from years of being washed in the ocean — were featured throughout all the details of their wedding.  They also got up the next morning at sunrise with the entire wedding party to do a day after session — and both “events” received rave reviews from the blog writers over at Merci New York.  Special Thanks to Jessica Weiser for coming all the way from Maine to shoot this wedding with me!!

Things that were cool:

Aforementioned decor and design — Joce even designed, printed and HAND DYED the ribbon on her invites.  Sooo beautiful.

Perfect weather.  Loving family and friends.

A large crowd on the board walk that participated in the ceremony — seriously, like hundreds of people were watching.  It was fun!

Jocelyn and Joe practiced not one but TWO choreographed dances at their reception.  I’m talking “Dancing with the Stars” level dances.  Super impressive!

A Chinese Tea Ceremony integrated both families

Sparklers at the end of the night.

A Day After Session that ROCKED!

So you can see…it was hard to wait to share these.  If you want to peek at the write up on Merci New York click the pic:

Some fun pics from the wedding (wait.  day after session also coming!)

And then we all got up at Sunrise.  But TOTALLY WORTH IT!

Two of my couples = Chicago

Solution?  Go to Chicago of course!

I day tripped (sort of) up to Chicago for the day to spend with two of the coolest couples I know!  Of course we were ALL hoping for that iconic shot of the Chicago skyline — and instead got such thick fog that you couldn’t actually tell Chicago existed from a distance…so…my favorite thing to do — we made it up as we went along…

First up Evelyn and Mclean – check out that cool skyline covered in fog!  I LOVE gray days — it makes colors sooooo soft and vibrant at the same time!  Take THAT bad weather!  ::laughing::

This is the EXACT bench that he proposed to her.  Tammy FAV!!  (We won’t mention that she dropped the ring…and then they almost couldn’t find it.  Nope.  It was a PERFECT proposal!)

Here’s the beach they love — and the obvious LACK of skyline…but LOOK at how beautiful they look.  I love happy.  I LIVE for happy.  And these two emote happiness.  It was like walking next to two balls of sunshine…seriously!

I think engagement sessions are incredibly important.  Plus you get cool pics of yourselves NOT in wedding clothes.  It’s a win, right?!   I love making them PERSONAL to the couple I’m photographing — places they love to go…things they like to do — and to these couples —- ironically BOTH of them are transitioning to new places in the Country — so documenting the places they love and the things they do together in Chicago was an AMAZING experience!

Next up Elyse and Josh…the sun peeked out for about 5.6 seconds — and JUST as we got ready to go to the beach?  You guessed it…in the fog rolled.  So WHATEVER.  We ROCKED IT ANYWAY.

How can you NOT photograph in Millenium Park?!  The Bean is the MOST AMAZING thing EVER.  I could have stayed all day just photographing people photographing themselves!

And…oh hi fog!  We missed you!

In the most classic way…Elyse and Josh and Evelyn and Mclean worked REALLY HARD to bring me to iconic Chicagoian (I know.  I just made that up) places to photograph…but in “typical” Tammy Swales style…I had to choose some…erm…LESS classic Chicago-like places…

I can’t NOT play.  I just can’t.   Because if it isn’t fun…then WHY are we doing it?

Yeah.  I thought so.

Rock on!  (I don’t know why I said that.  I needed a good closing…and the typical “thank you” just lacked something!)

These little clips are not new — there are some AMAZING artists who are creating some absolutely INSANE stop motion clips.

Check this out.

And this.

Cool, eh?

How could I NOT want to make one?

All I needed was some victims…erm…willing and wonderful clients who wanted to try something completely different.

Enter:  Melanie and Mark.

Lesson:  Stop Motion takes A LOT LONGER than you will ever expect it too.  Plus, since we hadn’t tried this before — we faced a lot of “unexpected” challenges…nothing a good roll of duct tape couldn’t fix — but still — we were problem solving ON THE SPOT all day long.  ::laughing and shaking head::

Here’s our final product.  To put it into context — Melanie and Mark watched fireworks on their first date…and our challenge was to incorporate that experience with the theme of their wedding “Van Gogh’s Starry Night”.  Yeah, right?  FUN!!

Hope you LOVE this.  It was AMAZING to put together and thank goodness I have an amazing team working with me!!

I did my best to embed the link here — but being less proficient that I thought and VERY IMPATIENT — you have to click the picture.  But then it will be awesome.  I promise.

Stop Motion Save the Date